WW ship Tricolor has sunk, ship was inbound to Southampton at the time. Apparently no loss of life and no MINIs aboard at the time of the sinking. Video From BBC
BBC print story

 

D'oh .......pretty damn close as mine had a 12/06 build and is on the awaiting transport mode.

It was an Iraqi sub , all a big consp. :evil:

 

Thanks for the links, gromit. Thank goodness there was no loss of life. I feel terrible for eveyone who's new car has had an untimely burial at sea. Glad it was inbound to Southampton and no MINIs were on board.

I wonder, though, if it will back up all shipments for a period of time, or if they'll just get another ship in there?

Anyone out there who was scheduled to be on the Tricolor departing 12/14?

 

Yes, I was booked today on the Tricolor. Damn, we will just have to wait and see how and when we ship out. Can't ever remember this happening in recent times, someone's radar probably wasn't working, hard to imagine if everything was operating normally.

 

I was booked on the Tricolor as well. I am sure this will back things up a bit. There is another ship bound for California on Wednesday, but who know how fully booked she is.

At least no one was hurt. but a dip in the English Channel? brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
JB

 

as my MINI tears drop, my MCS was onboard, she was sked to depart on TRICOLOR on the 9 of Dec fm Bremerhaven, what luck :evil:

 

>>as my MINI tears drop, my MCS was onboard, she was sked to depart on TRICOLOR on the 9 of Dec fm Bremerhaven, what luck :evil: >>>>>>>>>


I though the ship was leaving germany???! The ships stop in Germany THEN england. The MINIs aren't loaded until England. I would wait a few days and double check. The odds are you didn't lose your MINI. Just b/c your MINI was Scheduled to board and leave a certain day, doesn't mean it was.

 

At the obvious risk of sounding dumb, how do I know which boat I'm scheduled to be on?

 

Try this link:

Cargo Tracking

Click on "AUTO", then enter the last 7 digits of the VIN.

Good luck!

 

I checked the Tricolors cargo and all minis still appear to be assigned to the ship, no reassignment as of yet. Hopefully all of us TriColors will know something soon.
JB

 

Here are some pics of the poor Tricolor:
<img src="http://members.***.net/springmini/im....jpg"> <br>
<img src="http://members.***.net/springmini/im....jpg"> <br>

very sad... especially for the person whos was on board

 

ok... let'stry that again

 

What a horror story!
My Mrs. Peel is at sea on the Fidelio.
She's due in 12/29. I'm so sorry for
any fellow MINIacs who may have
lost their precious cargo at sea.

Lee Ann

 

lhowlett:

Thanks for the sobering words, my MCS has found a better home, I'd like to think of it as giving something back, I will soon regain what was lost :smile:

Ed

 

The news (BBC) this morning is that the Tricolor remains a hazzard for navigation and was actually hit AGAIN early this morning by yet another boat. Apparently it didn't go to the bottom (or at least the bottom there is very shallow) and thus remains on its side just below water. There was a story on by the French Coast Guard saying that as soon as the weather clears they will be righting and moving the ship.

Not that I'd want one of the thousands or BMWs or Volvos (or one MINI ) still on board, but what do you think they'll end up doing with those cars? All will be water damaged, but it's likely that a good percentage are not otherwise destroyed. They do lash those cars down pretty good, and just hanging 90 degrees won't nescessarily totally destroy the bodies, engines, etc. Is it likely that they'll salvage any parts? Or will they show up on the market in some third world country (where "flood damaged" cars may not carry the same stigma as they would here)? Hummmmmm.

 

jsun,

When I was talking with the insurance agent in Germany, they said that the hole cargo was a lost, However I have read that they will be trying to raise her.. just to move her out of the way..

On a good note, I have been talking with my car dealer,, and I'm starting to place my new order.

 

As others have said Coolbrz, sorry about your loss. But it sounds like you have the right attitude...it is just a car, and a good part of the fun is in ordering and acquiring. So, you get to live this part of the fun twice as often as the rest of us!

But as for the salvage...my question/conjecture was based on the knowledge that much of what insurance companies (major marine, auto, shipping agents, etc.) declare as total losses are infact salvaged in one way or another. Since the Tricolor and its cargo isn't unretrievable, it wouldn't suprise me that someone (often the insurance company itself) wouldn't try to get some salvage value out of all of that. Even at cents on the dollar, it'd be something more than nothing for someone willing and qualified to do the work. And the salvage wouldn't be hard for some marine agents to contemplate...the ship is right at the surface and largely undamaged except for being capsized onto its port side.

Again, this has no impact on your personal loss...your car is a write-off and you'll get paid as such...but it's just one of those "what if" questions.

 

Just to make matters worse, another large boat smashed right into it again last night. Some one up there has got something against the Tricolor. I heard on the news that people who had cars on the Ticolor will now have to wait untill Easter. I however, picked my Cooper S up at the weekend so I am alright Jack.

 

>>The news (BBC) this morning is that the Tricolor remains a hazzard for navigation and was actually hit AGAIN early this morning by yet another boat. Apparently it didn't go to the bottom (or at least the bottom there is very shallow) and thus remains on its side just below water. There was a story on by the French Coast Guard saying that as soon as the weather clears they will be righting and moving the ship.


Here's a link to a story. The catastrophic carnage continues copiously! Try this :smile:

 

This makes me think about Karma. I already have my MINI. But when I was waiting a few guys at work had fun telling me the ship with my car had been sunk (or hit by a rogue nuclear missile from a country the US does not have good relations with currently). Certain things just should not be joked about.

 

>>jsun,
>>
>>When I was talking with the insurance agent in Germany, they said that the hole cargo was a lost, However I have read that they will be trying to raise her.. just to move her out of the way..
>>
>>On a good note, I have been talking with my car dealer,, and I'm starting to place my new order.
>>
>>
>>

Are you SURE it was on there? If it didn't get to England then your car isn't on board. I thought it had left Germany and was HEADED to England.

Just trying to see the glass half-full.

Good luck.

 

In the spirit of raising old threads (as was suggested on another thread today), here's some news re. the Tricolor...remember, the WW lines ship that went down with 3000 BMWs/Volvos/Saabs and one MINI last December.

They've started the salvage operation. It's really pretty neat (if you're into those kind of things) as the procedure is to cut the ship into chunks and raise them. The cutting is accomplished via a diamond-encrusted cable saw and ends up making slices of ship that look right out of a "how things work" book. Here's the official website of the salvage operation.

And here's a news article about the operation.

Apparently, BMW, etc. are being very rigid (go figure ) about what happens to the cars as they start to come out. All will be shreaded so that the parts don't end up in the global supply chain.

 

Yeah I heard all about it this morning in NPR news. The operartion is not only expensive and difficult but very dangerous as well.

Volvo, Saab and BMW wants to completely scrap what's left of those cars so the parts don't end up with dubious second hand part resellers becuase of liability issues. Besides what can you really salvage out on a car that has been 8 months sitting in the ocean floor??

BMW refuses to leave the remains of those cars sitting in the depths of the English Channel fearing determined parts hunter getting a hold of those piled up and smashed autos.

The losses due to that accident must have been astronomical!

 

jsun,

Thanks for a super interesting update. I know both Antwerp and Zeebrugge well, having worked in the shipping trade while living in Antwerp. What a great salvage method. Anybody want a great deal on a 7 series BMW?

 

Having this article resurface makes me worry about my baby. It's on the pond right now.